


Family Gathering

by serenbach



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, M/M, nothing but fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-05
Updated: 2015-03-05
Packaged: 2018-03-16 12:40:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3488594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/serenbach/pseuds/serenbach
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thorin joins Bilbo at a Took family party, but can't help feeling a little out of place. </p><p>At first, anyway.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Family Gathering

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Synchrony](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Synchrony/gifts).



For the first time, Thorin could truly understand how overwhelmed and out of place Bilbo must have felt in the midst of a party of thirteen dwarves.

There were hobbits _everywhere_. Hobbits scurrying by with platters of food bigger than them, hobbits swinging each other around in dances with steps that Thorin couldn’t follow, and singing songs that he didn’t know the words to.

He’d gone with Bilbo to his third cousin twice removed’s birthday party. Or perhaps his second cousin three times removed. Bilbo had explained it, but it had gone over Thorin’s head – dwarves recorded their lineage, but not down to the minute details that hobbits seemed to. 

But this was the first party invitation that Bilbo had received since he’d opened his door one stormy evening to find Thorin lurking outside like a bedraggled stray cat, and so, uncomfortable or not, he wasn’t leaving. 

In truth, it wasn’t all that different from a dwarven party. The food was plentiful, even if it contained rather more green and leafy things than he preferred; the ale mugs were much smaller than the ones he was used to, although they were refilled more often, and hobbits still danced on tables, though with significantly less breakages of both crockery and furniture.

But he still felt a little awkward and ill at ease, standing alone and at least a head taller than everyone else present, waiting for Bilbo to return to him. The hobbits were all glancing over at him, but none of them asked “Mister Bilbo’s friend from foreign parts,” to join them.

“Having fun?” Bilbo asked, appearing at his elbow and handing him one of those tiny mugs of ale.

“It’s very… lively,” he answered, gulping down a much-needed mouthful of his drink.

Bilbo snorted. “Well, they are Tooks, after all,” he said, as if that explained everything.

“I thought you were a Took,” Thorin asked, smirking side-long down at him.

“Half Took, if you please,” Bilbo replied primly. Thorin hid his smile in his ale cup.

“Honestly though, Thorin,” Bilbo asked, glancing up at him earnestly. “Are you having a good time?”

Thorin reached over and took his hand, pressing a kiss into his palm, much to the delight of Bilbo’s Tookish relatives, who started cheering and clapping.

The tips of Bilbo’s ears went pink. 

“I am,” he assured Bilbo with a smile, suddenly feeling very much at home. Being teased by his kinfolk was something that Thorin was very familiar with, after all. 

Bilbo rolled his eyes, still blushing, but couldn’t hide his pleasure in Thorin’s answer.

(Later, when Thorin had refilled his cup enough time to no longer care about not knowing the steps of the hobbit dances, Bilbo was not the only one to end the night embarrassed. But that was alright. They were among family, after all.)

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written for [synchronyshattered](http://synchronyshattered.tumblr.com/) over on tumblr.
> 
> Feel free to chat about bagginshield [here](http://serenbach86.tumblr.com/) with me, if you like!


End file.
